'At least one of my sites will stop becoming viable': Fears over Budget's 'unintended consequences'

Businesses are counting the cost of the new government's first Budget after a 'torrid' few years. Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered Labour's first Budget in more than 14 years.

Tasked with mending a '£22 billion black hole' while trying to boost the NHS and grow the economy, Ms Reeves spoke of the 'difficult decisions' she had faced - including a major tax hike for employers. But business leaders in Greater Manchester have been left fearing the 'unintended consequences' of the Treasury's recent announcements.

David Fox, founder and CEO of the Tampopo Asian restaurants, told the Manchester Evening News he expects to face extra costs of £50,000 per site when the measures announced in the Budget come into effect. "That's a lot of money," he said.

READ MORE: 'Everything went into chaos': Horror on Ryanair flight to Manchester as passenger dies

"I hate the notion that business can afford it. I made about 3.5p in every pound last year. That's not really giving me much bandwidth to suck it up. At least one of my sites will stop becoming viable as a business."

The Budget included a £40 billion tax increase - including £25.7 billion through national insurance contributions paid by employers. The rate will rise from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent, while the threshold at which employers start paying the tax will be cut from £9,100 to £5,000 per year.

Employers will also be hit by the national minimum wage increase of 6.7 per cent next April, while Covid-era business rates relief is also being reduced from 75 per cent to 40 per cent - ahead of reforms to follow in 2026. The changes come midway through a decade which has seen a pandemic followed by spiralling costs which have been 'horrible for business and customers', Mr Fox says.